image from redwoodbarnnurseryblogspot.com
I found this article very informative. My spring is too busy to plant anything for a vegetable garden. So now I am going to try a fall garden. I will be planting in large containers and I will try to video it so I can use that this winter to talk about gardening. Have any of you planted garden now in July and August for a fall harvest? Let us know. I am lucky enough to have bulk garden seeds to do that plus I saved some transplants back to do them for a fall garden. I will take pictures to post right away. Let us know what you plant for a fall harvest. Thanks
PLANTING VEGETABLES FOR A FALL HARVEST WHEN, HOW, AND WHY TO PLANT A FALL GARDEN
By Robin Sweetser
Summer is still at its peak, but the days are getting shorter and fall is on the way. Are you planning to continue your harvest into autumn this year? If so, now is the time to get planting. There are so many interesting vegetables that thrive when the weather cools! Albert Camus said that autumn is a second spring because every leaf is a flower. For me, fall in the garden is a second spring because we are harvesting spring veggies again.
WHY PLANT A GARDEN FOR FALL?
Every July, I try to convince my farmers’ market customers that they should be planting their fall gardens, but I don’t have many takers. Most give me the fish eye like I am trying to put something over on them. These are the folks that do a marathon planting session on Memorial Day weekend and then scratch “planting the garden” off their to do list—done for the year! They don’t realize that many crops can be put in the ground before that traditional planting day and others need to be planted later when they can mature in colder weather. A large part of our market day is spent educating people about the possibilities. Planting fall crops lets you continue growing fresh, healthy food at home—plus, there is nothing like home-grown crisp, leafy lettuce. The plants produce better and the work is spread out over several weeks. Cooler temperatures means less watering and less sweating for you!
Warm soil is key to good germination, so by the time you’re planting in July and August, the soil will be warmed and your seedlings will grow like mad.
WHAT VEGETABLES CAN BE PLANTED FOR A FALL HARVEST?
Here in New Hampshire, I’m rather limited by our short growing season. However, if you live somewhere warmer, you can likely get away with planting a lot more for a fall harvest! After pulling our garlic in mid-summer, we had seedlings of lettuce, bok choy, chinese cabbage, and kale ready and waiting to plug into the empty beds. Spinach and Swiss chard can also be started from seed during summer, as both will last into colder fall weather. Ever the optimist, I planted more bush beans, summer squash, and cucumbers, knowing that I will have to cover them when cold weather threatens.
New baby summer squash will replace the tired plants that have been producing since early summer.
WHAT MAKES FOR A GOOD FALL CROP?
Generally, vegetables that mature quickly and that are frost tolerant make for the best fall crops. Vegetables that can survive light frosts (in the 30 to 32˚F range) include beets, Chinese cabbage, cauliflower, celery, collards, green onions, potatoes, Bibb and leaf lettuce, mustard, parsnips, radishes, spinach, and Swiss chard. The flavor of some of these, such as collards and parsnips, is, in fact, much improved by exposure to a spell of below-freezing temperature.
Even hardier vegetables that can survive temperatures as low as 20˚F include cabbage, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, carrots, kale, leeks, rutabagas and turnips. Upon thawing out, these hardy vegetables will continue to grow between freezes!
WHEN TO PLANT WHAT
It’s important to plant at the right time for your location. Here’s how to get a general idea of when to plant: See your local frost date calculator.
Then take the days to maturity for the crop you plan to grow (usually listed on the seed packets) and count back this number of days from the frost date. (If the days to maturity listed is from transplant, not seeding, add another 4 weeks to this figure.) Because plants grow more slowly in the shorter, cooler days of fall, add a ″fall factor″ of another week or two to the maturity time.
Then add in the length of the expected harvest period and you’ve arrived at your planting date. Of course, you can plant earlier than this date, but to ensure a good crop, consider this to be the “last planting date.”
Generally speaking, here’s the rule of thumb:
10-12 weeks before first frost: Broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, carrots, celery.
8-10 weeks before first frost: Arugula, Chinese cabbage, collards, kale, lettuce, mustard greens, spinach, Swiss chart, turnips
6-8 weeks before first frost: Beets, radish.
FALL GARDENING CARE TIPS
Mulch your beets, carrots, turnips, and parsnips before the ground freezes hard. Even if the vegetable tops wilt, the roots will survive with mulching and you can often harvest through the winter!
With fast-maturing crops such as lettuce and hardy greens, stagger small plantings every few weeks to keep the harvest spread out or you’ll get all your lettuce at one time.
Of course, you’ll need to follow gardening principles you’d use in the summer. Provide good soil (with organic matter), fertilize with plant food if you wish, and water consistently.
WATCH OUT FOR FALL PESTS
Of course, it isn’t all as rosy as some of the gardening books would like you to think. You still need to keep an eye out for slugs, cutworms, and cabbage worms, which like tender sprouts and leafy greens.
That said, there are definitely less pests in the cool fall than in the summer, so that’s another advantage!
Good luck with your fall garden!
Taken from https://www.almanac.com/news/gardening/gardening-advice/best-vegetables-plant-fall
Till next time this is Becky Litterer, Becky’s Greenhouse, Dougherty Iowa beckmall@netins.net facebook Becky Kerndt Litterer or Beckys greenhouse, 641-794-3337
PLANTING VEGETABLES FOR A FALL HARVEST WHEN, HOW, AND WHY TO PLANT A FALL GARDEN
By Robin Sweetser
Summer is still at its peak, but the days are getting shorter and fall is on the way. Are you planning to continue your harvest into autumn this year? If so, now is the time to get planting. There are so many interesting vegetables that thrive when the weather cools! Albert Camus said that autumn is a second spring because every leaf is a flower. For me, fall in the garden is a second spring because we are harvesting spring veggies again.
WHY PLANT A GARDEN FOR FALL?
Every July, I try to convince my farmers’ market customers that they should be planting their fall gardens, but I don’t have many takers. Most give me the fish eye like I am trying to put something over on them. These are the folks that do a marathon planting session on Memorial Day weekend and then scratch “planting the garden” off their to do list—done for the year! They don’t realize that many crops can be put in the ground before that traditional planting day and others need to be planted later when they can mature in colder weather. A large part of our market day is spent educating people about the possibilities. Planting fall crops lets you continue growing fresh, healthy food at home—plus, there is nothing like home-grown crisp, leafy lettuce. The plants produce better and the work is spread out over several weeks. Cooler temperatures means less watering and less sweating for you!
Warm soil is key to good germination, so by the time you’re planting in July and August, the soil will be warmed and your seedlings will grow like mad.
WHAT VEGETABLES CAN BE PLANTED FOR A FALL HARVEST?
Here in New Hampshire, I’m rather limited by our short growing season. However, if you live somewhere warmer, you can likely get away with planting a lot more for a fall harvest! After pulling our garlic in mid-summer, we had seedlings of lettuce, bok choy, chinese cabbage, and kale ready and waiting to plug into the empty beds. Spinach and Swiss chard can also be started from seed during summer, as both will last into colder fall weather. Ever the optimist, I planted more bush beans, summer squash, and cucumbers, knowing that I will have to cover them when cold weather threatens.
New baby summer squash will replace the tired plants that have been producing since early summer.
WHAT MAKES FOR A GOOD FALL CROP?
Generally, vegetables that mature quickly and that are frost tolerant make for the best fall crops. Vegetables that can survive light frosts (in the 30 to 32˚F range) include beets, Chinese cabbage, cauliflower, celery, collards, green onions, potatoes, Bibb and leaf lettuce, mustard, parsnips, radishes, spinach, and Swiss chard. The flavor of some of these, such as collards and parsnips, is, in fact, much improved by exposure to a spell of below-freezing temperature.
Even hardier vegetables that can survive temperatures as low as 20˚F include cabbage, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, carrots, kale, leeks, rutabagas and turnips. Upon thawing out, these hardy vegetables will continue to grow between freezes!
WHEN TO PLANT WHAT
It’s important to plant at the right time for your location. Here’s how to get a general idea of when to plant: See your local frost date calculator.
Then take the days to maturity for the crop you plan to grow (usually listed on the seed packets) and count back this number of days from the frost date. (If the days to maturity listed is from transplant, not seeding, add another 4 weeks to this figure.) Because plants grow more slowly in the shorter, cooler days of fall, add a ″fall factor″ of another week or two to the maturity time.
Then add in the length of the expected harvest period and you’ve arrived at your planting date. Of course, you can plant earlier than this date, but to ensure a good crop, consider this to be the “last planting date.”
Generally speaking, here’s the rule of thumb:
10-12 weeks before first frost: Broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, carrots, celery.
8-10 weeks before first frost: Arugula, Chinese cabbage, collards, kale, lettuce, mustard greens, spinach, Swiss chart, turnips
6-8 weeks before first frost: Beets, radish.
FALL GARDENING CARE TIPS
Mulch your beets, carrots, turnips, and parsnips before the ground freezes hard. Even if the vegetable tops wilt, the roots will survive with mulching and you can often harvest through the winter!
With fast-maturing crops such as lettuce and hardy greens, stagger small plantings every few weeks to keep the harvest spread out or you’ll get all your lettuce at one time.
Of course, you’ll need to follow gardening principles you’d use in the summer. Provide good soil (with organic matter), fertilize with plant food if you wish, and water consistently.
WATCH OUT FOR FALL PESTS
Of course, it isn’t all as rosy as some of the gardening books would like you to think. You still need to keep an eye out for slugs, cutworms, and cabbage worms, which like tender sprouts and leafy greens.
That said, there are definitely less pests in the cool fall than in the summer, so that’s another advantage!
Good luck with your fall garden!
Taken from https://www.almanac.com/news/gardening/gardening-advice/best-vegetables-plant-fall
Till next time this is Becky Litterer, Becky’s Greenhouse, Dougherty Iowa beckmall@netins.net facebook Becky Kerndt Litterer or Beckys greenhouse, 641-794-3337
